Economist says to look to tech, finance jobs

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Cal State Fullerton economics professor Adrian Fleissig released the quarterly Southern California Leading Indicator, which attempts to predict economic activity three to six months out, earlier this week. The report essentially said the nation and Southern California should expect an uptick in economic activity in the near future.

With Labor Day right around the corner, Fleissig recently shared his perspective on the labor market and what Orange County should expect with respect to jobs.

Q. What's your theory for why the workforce participation rate has dropped so much, from more than 66 percent nationwide in 2000 to 63.4 percent today?

A. The participation rate has declined since the Great Recession. One explanation is that as the county began to lose jobs and the unemployment rate increased, some people simply stopped looking for work and just left the labor force. Another reason is that more people now receive social security and disability benefits and thus leave the labor force. For Orange County, a main factor contributing to the decline in the labor force is also from people retiring and those going back to school.

Q. What jobs represent the best hope for new graduates to earn a middle-class income in years to come?

A. For new graduates, the job market certainly looks a lot better than last year. With the real estate sector gaining momentum, better-paying jobs related to the housing sector will emerge including management and finance jobs related to real estate. Of course, in Orange County, the high-tech industry provides some of the better compensated opportunities. Leisure, hospitality and health care are other areas that will continue to offer good paying jobs.

Q. Your indicator projects an increase in Southern California economic activity in the next three to six months. How will that translate to job growth?

A. It is now clear that the worst of the Great Recession is behind us here in Orange County. So the positive increase in the indicator predicts that employment should increase as firms need to hire more people to meet the increase in demand for goods and services.

On the move

Jennifer Ehrhardt is the new CFO at Tilly's Inc., an action sports retail chain headquartered in Irvine. She will replace the retiring Bill Langsdorf on Sept. 14. Ehrhardt previously served as the company's vice president of finance, and was vice president and corporate controller at Foothill Ranch-based Wet Seal Inc. before she joined Tilly's this year.

Roger Hilterbrandt has been hired as executive vice president of sales and strategy at DealerCentric, a software developer in Mission Viejo that makes automotive finance management systems. Hilterbrandt was previously vice president of sales for AutoTrader.com.

Danielle Mouradian has joined City National Bank as senior vice president and senior relationship manager for its commercial banking services group at the company's Orange County regional center in Irvine. She previously worked at Bank of America as senior vice president and business client manager.

New ventures

The Irvine-based In-N-Out Burger restaurant chain will open its first eatery located on tribal lands next year, at the Morongo Indian Reservation in Riverside County, directly adjacent to the Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa.

The Law Office of Christine A. Wilton has partnered with fellow Huntington Beach resident and attorney Anna Serrambana to form the Surf City Lawyers firm, and moved into a new office in their hometown at 5011 Argosy Avenue, Suite 3.

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